Blog about NYC real estate by NYC Broker Mitchell Hall. Homes, architecture, neighborhoods, new developments, market reports, trends and more...

Possible NYC Doorman Strike - Again!

I received this email from SEIU32BJ the union that represents doormen and other apartment building workers. Below is the email press release:

32BJ REJECTS RAB PROPOSALS FOR NEW DOORMAN CONTRACT

New York, NY--Today’s talks between 32BJ and leaders of NY’s Real Estate Industry made no progress on a new contract for 30,000 doormen and other apartment building workers. Instead of offering realistic proposals, the Realty Advisory Board (RAB) put forth unfair and unacceptable cuts to the health care, overtime and sick days that thirty thousand apartment building workers and their families rely on to make ends meet.

“Our message to the real estate industry is that with the recession now over, we need to be looking at leading economic indicators, not lagging ones when setting wages for the next several years, “said Mike Fishman, President of 32BJ. “With two straight quarters of economic growth behind us, and with steady growth expected for several more quarters to come, we need to be looking forward not backward.”

In the four years since the last contract, the consumer price index in the New York City area jumped 11.3%. The cost of milk, transportation and other everyday items is up more than 10%. Meanwhile, the $584 billion New York real estate industry -- which ranks first in the nation in overall occupancy rate in apartments and in average rent -- grew 28 percent.

“Apartment building workers and working New Yorkers should be able to live in the city where they work,” said Kyle Bragg, 32BJ Vice President for Residential Building Service Workers. “Because working families are an indispensable part of our economy and neighborhoods, we must make sure the city remains affordable to all New Yorkers.”

“The workers who keep apartment buildings running well and residents safe should be able to make ends meet in our city,” Fishman added. “This campaign is about more than a contract, it’s about keeping our city a place that working families can still afford to call home.”

“Working families like mine are being pushed out of the city,” said Felicia Estrada, a door attendant in Washington Heights. “We work hard every day so we can pay the bills and give our kids an education,” said Deon Fenton, a concierge on the Upper East Side.

“Despite the economic downturn, the New York real estate industry still boasts the lowest vacancy rate in the country and the highest average rent,” said Fishman. "This $584 billion industry surely has the capacity to ensure that the workers who maintain their buildings can support their own families.

Building worker labor costs, which are just eight percent of an owners’ operating costs, increased less than other operating costs."

“No one wants a strike,” said Bragg. “But we’re committed to do what it takes to get workers what they need.”

The negotiations for a new multi-year contract covering more the 30,000 apartment building workers began on March 9 between 32BJ and the Realty Advisory Board (RAB), an industry association representing most building owners in New York City. Failure to reach an agreement could lead to a strike directly affecting more than one million New Yorkers living in over 3,200 apartment, condo and co-op buildings in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. The contract expires at 12:01 a.m. on April 21st.

With more than 120,000 members concentrated in eight states, 32BJ is the largest property service workers union in the country. For more information, visit http://www.standwithbuildingworkers.org/press

No comments

All related comments are welcome. Spam and spammy links will not be published and will be deleted.

Powered by Blogger.